Kenny Pickett Caps Sensational Preseason Against Falcons
PITTSBURGH -- Former Pitt Panthers Kenny Pickett and the Pittsburgh Steelers closed the 2022-23 regular season on a tear, winning seven of their final nine games and knocking on the door of a playoff berth.
And in his second preseason, the former first-round pick out of Pitt is flashing signs that second-year leap fans and coaches had hoped for is real. After a 4-4, 86-yard outing against the Atlanta Falcons, Pickett ended his preseason having completed 13 of 15 passes for 199 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Pickett's connection with fellow second-year Steeler George Pickens was evident from the opener against Tampa Bay, when he hit the former Georgia star wideout with a bullet of a pass for a 33-yard touchdown.
Perhaps his most impressive throw came in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills, when he perfectly placed a 25-yard touchdown pass on the back shoulder of tight end Pat Friermuth.
Against Atlanta, Pickett hit both Diontae Johnson to get his unit out of the shadow of its own goalpost, and then to Pickens for another gain of more than 30 yards, which set up a short touchdown run from Najee Harris.
Each of the five drives Pickett commanded ended in touchdowns for the new-look Steelers offense.
The competition gets much harder when the Steelers welcome the vaunted 49ers defense to Pittsburgh for the season opener, but Pickett and the offense look more than up to the task for now.
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